Ministry of Nature develops National Adaptation Plan to climate change

AKIPRESS.COM — The Ministry of Nature of Kyrgyzstan is proposing to approve a National Adaptation Plan by 2030 to address the escalating impacts of climate change. The draft plan has been released for public discussion.

The Ministry highlights that climate change poses a significant threat to sustainable development of Kyrgyzstan, with increasing extreme weather events, declining biodiversity, and a growing risk to food security. Warming rates in Central Asia are higher than the global average, necessitating urgent adaptation measures.

Since 1960, temperatures in the region have risen by 0.38°C per decade, and glaciers have shrunk by a third since 1930. By the end of the century, the average annual temperature could increase by 5−6°C, exacerbating risks of droughts and floods. Temperatures rose by 0.024°C in Kyrgyzstan per year between 1885 and 2023, accelerating to 0.07°C over the last 20 years. The most significant warming occurs in spring, particularly in March. The climate is becoming drier, with unevenly distributed precipitation, especially in the south. Rapid glacial melt threatens water supply and irrigation.

Key climate risks for Kyrgyzstan include heatwaves, droughts, water scarcity, floods, and mudslides. Heat in southern regions increases mortality, worsens public health, and strains the energy system. Droughts and water scarcity reduce crop yields, degrade soils, and intensify water competition. Floods and mudslides in mountainous areas damage infrastructure and pose safety threats. Urgent measures are needed, such as modernizing water infrastructure, adopting drought-resistant technologies, and developing early warning systems.

The Ministry stresses that climate change profoundly affects the economy, ecology, and social stability. Priorities include glacier preservation, rational water resource management, and sustainable agriculture. Effective adaptation demands intersectoral coordination, international resource mobilization, and the adoption of modern technologies.

The Plan’s strategic goals involve developing a national model for managing climate threats, creating a climate risk map, enhancing forecasting and modeling capabilities, strengthening the institutional framework through national and regional coordination mechanisms, and attracting domestic and international resources for adaptation.

To boost adaptive capacity, the Ministry wants to modernize infrastructure, ensure professional development of specialists, enhance climate change monitoring, and integrate climate priorities into sectoral policies.

The Ministry also emphasizes the need for increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure to climate disasters, implementing adaptive technologies and equipping key economic sectors, developing a regulatory framework that incentivizes climate adaptation, and conducting systematic climate risk assessments and implementing preventive measures in key industries.

Kyrgyzstan also plans to strengthen climate policy governance through reforming the Climate Change Coordination Council, establishing regional councils, integrating climate priorities into national strategies, and developing a unified climate law. To bolster scientific potential, specialized centers will be created, monitoring and forecasting improved, and cooperation with international partners fostered. An online platform for climate information, modernization of observation networks, digital tools for inter-agency interaction, and specialist training in climate analysis are also planned.

The Plan includes response scenarios for droughts, floods, and reduced glacial runoff, considering economic and social factors. Adaptation measures will be developed for each climate zone, including water body monitoring and hydrodynamic modeling.

The Ministry’s justification brief states that policy implementation will focus on financial mobilization: attracting private investment through tax incentives and co-financing, expanding access to global climate funds, and enhancing international cooperation. Plans also include establishing a national climate monitoring center and a climate risk insurance mechanism to minimize economic losses.